Career Development

The construction industry stands alone in its diversity of occupations, crafts and breadth of opportunities for learning and leadership. Career development choices include crafts training, apprenticeships, advanced equipment operations, supervising, information technologies, project management, engineering and general management. Good educational systems should build awareness and prepare students of all ages for selecting among the many options for getting started.

All human beings, by nature, have a desire to know.

So, in the grand scheme of things, does holding a college degree really matter for a prosperous career? How about a willingness to learn a skilled craft or trade in the construction industry?

A recent New York Times article entitled “It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk” identifies an employment trend stating a college degree is the new minimum requirement for getting even the lowest-level white collar jobs, which do not require college-level skills.

According to the article, economists have referred to this phenomenon as “degree inflation,” and it has been steadily infiltrating America’s job market. Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma — positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters — are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small- to midsize-employer sites.

The author states “up-credentialing” is pushing the less educated even further down the food chain, explaining why the unemployment rate for workers with no more than a high school diploma is more than twice that for workers with a bachelor’s degree: 8.1 percent versus 3.7 percent. Yet, the U.S. is facing a skilled workforce shortage in construction and there are many jobs available for those with high school degrees who are willing to work. Read more » about It Takes a College Diploma to be a Millionaire?

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Focus on Re-Accreditation, Program Development, and a New Certification Category for Lift Directors

More than 30 industry stakeholders attended the annual meeting for the Crane Institute of America Certification (CIC), held March 5-7, 2013 in Lake Mary, FL.  A cross-section of experts from CIC's Governing and Advisory Committees plus several notable guests reviewed written and practical exam materials in preparation for re-accreditation with the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and application for accreditation with ANSI.

“NCCA requires re-accreditation every five years.  CIC first became accredited by NCCA in 2008.  CIC has also received preliminary application approval from ANSI and expects to add ANSI accreditations this year for mobile and tower cranes at different levels of type and capacity." - Debbie Dickinson, Executive Director of CIC.   Read more » about Crane Institute of America Certification’s Annual Meeting

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According to an article in the Washington Post, the uptick in the economy has many highly skilled workers looking for better jobs. These workers may have been frozen in place during the last 4 years when jobs were limited and just having a job was primary, but now with the improvement in the job market, many employers are finding themselves with more voluntary turnover. That means either their key employees are being wooed away or their workers are feeling more confident in their future and are venturing out into the marketplace.

The article states: 

“Experts say the increased interest in jumping ship is driven by a variety of factors, most of which seem to reflect a workforce that has grown weary of the corporate belt-tightening that was commonplace during the recession.

  Read more » about Skilled Workers Begin to Move to Better Jobs

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Recovery is all around us. The construction industry is revving up again, driven by a hefty backlog of work and a fresh dose of infrastructure revitalization. And just as many had predicted, we are now facing an extraordinary lack of skilled craft professionals who are ready to build, repair and maintain. 

The cycle of recruitment for any industry hinges on informing young students about the possibilities for a particular career and the steps they need to take in order to accomplish their goals. Yet the construction industry is hindered by preconceived ideas and misconceptions about the education, training, and advancement opportunities associated with a successful career.

Some of these misconceptions start early on, perpetuated by well-meaning parents, teachers and guidance counselors: 

“Oh, you can take a carpentry class in high school, but you can't make a living as a carpenter.” Read more » about Construction Careers: More than a back-up plan

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“I don't need training, I don't have time for that!  Get me a job and then I can show them what I can do!”

I hear this all the time when I recruit small and minority contractors to sign up for leadership/management training.  After spurning my invitation, the contractor eventually wins a job, fails to perform, and is either struggling to keep the business afloat, or has quit altogether and moved into a different industry.

I've seen this happen many times and had to bail out many a contractor in my career as a consultant to the construction industry.  The question we must ask is, “What can we learn from other people's mistakes?”

Actually, everyone needs strategic training and planning, and here's why.

I recently read an interesting Construction Lending News article entitled, Why Do Contractors Really Go Under? by Dev Strischek and Kevin McLaughlin that provides insight to this issue.  Strischek and McLaughlin indicated that a study identified 80 construction firms with revenues over $300 million annually that went out of business or experienced significant financial distress in the past 25 years. Read more » about How to Stay Afloat in a Recovering Economy

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We’ve written and talked about the upcoming worker shortages in skilled trades, managers and estimators in the construction industry, but we have not written about the skills that you need to become a construction estimator.  That is, until now.

Aundraya Ruse, Editorial Coordinator over at Software Advice in Austin sent along a post about construction estimators that outlines those skills and how to get them.  The article, written by freelance writer Tom Zind, states:

“With the pressure on contractors to win not just more business but work that’s profitable, it falls to estimators to get the numbers right. But that’s a big challenge in an environment of volatile materials costs, stiff competition, increasingly tighter margins and shorter bidding windows.

“As such, demand for estimators is only likely to grow. And that translates to opportunities for those with not just the right mix of skills, training and experience, but the up-front knowledge of the forces shaping the market, the educational resources available and potential career pathways.”

The article goes on to quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports about pending shortages and then goes on to outline a road map for becoming a construction estimator. Read more » about Construction Estimators Take Note

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Click this link to view the entire Kiley Fall Briefing content, including video, presentation materials, and more: Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall Briefing

Pat Kiley, respected construction consultant, former head of AGC Houston and Construction Citizen blogger, recently hosted construction industry executives for an update on what's happening in Houston and around the country.  His company, Kiley Advisors, LLC, conducts custom conferences and other services for construction firms and associations.  His 2012 Fall Briefing was well attended and featured speakers Dan Bellow, Joe Synan and representatives from Kiley Advisors: Candace Hernandez and Pat Kiley himself.  It began with a tribute to Dr. Richard Wainerdi, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center.

For those who were unable to attend, or for those who were there and want to share the experience with others, Construction Citizen is proud to partner with Kiley Advisors to present it in its entirety.  The following link will take you to a page with videos of each presentation and other content related to the half-day conference held at the Houston offices of Marek Brothers Systems, Inc.: Read more » about Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall Briefing

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At the Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall Briefing, Dan Bellow offered up a comprehensive economic outlook for the Houston construction executives in attendance.

“In Houston, we’re getting white hot again,” Bellow said.  He said the reasons Houston has outperformed the rest of the country are straightforward: there was no overbuilding, the city avoided mass layoffs, there was no housing bubble, and there is a real international focus.  Houston also continues to grow at what some might find an unbelievable pace.  He stated: “In the year 2025, we’re going to be another 2 million people bigger.”

Kiley opened the conference with the following introduction, included in the first of the following videos:

“The purpose of this meeting every year is to try to inform your thinking as you start your strategic planning.  The narrow purpose of our firm – and we are about as narrowly niched a company as you could be – we work exclusively in the commercial construction segment, for general and specialty contractors, and also for their trade associations.  Our narrow purpose is to support CEO’s, Senior Executives, with their strategy and leadership portfolio.  Read more » about Houston Real Estate Update with Dan Bellow, with Kiley Preview

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The Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall Briefing kicked off with a tribute to Texas Medical Center President and CEO Dr. Richard Wainerdi.  Stan Marek, President and CEO of the Marek Family of Companies, introduced Dr. Wainerdi to the construction executives gathered for the conference.  Dr. Wainerdi talked about the importance of awarding construction contracts to Houston firms instead of bringing in companies from elsewhere to do the work.  “It makes me furious when they go to get somebody in New York when we’ve got great contractors and subs here,” he said. Read more » about A Tribute to Dr. Richard Wainerdi

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Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall Briefing attendees received a comprehensive update on what's happening in construction from Pat Kiley himself and the co-founder of his firm, Candace Hernandez.  Kiley told the crowd of executives that the economy is getting ready to really take off once again.  “We are pretty much bouncing on the bottom, for the size of an economy that we are,” Kiley said.  He stressed the importance of creating a sustainable workforce.  “By working with vehicles like Construction Citizen and the Construction Career Collaborative (C3), we can reclaim our workforce,” he said.

Hernandez, a breakout star of the conference, stressed that companies that are successful going forward will be the ones that can maintain consistency and simplicity at their core. Read more » about Construction Market Outlook and Strategic Thinking Tools with Pat Kiley and Candace Hernandez

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